Go Alan and Patti 2020

The summer comes to an end.  A fond farewell to Mary Lou for the summer.  Even though it wasn't cold yet at Riverside, her thin body required a serious coat to keep her warm.  This whole summer Mary Lou was happy and comfortable.  She was at her favorite place with her favorite people.  Nephew Dan visited us on his end of summer tour of New York State.  Here we are at the beautiful Black Hole Falls. And the end of summer required a last visit to the Paradox Brewery with Roger and Carol.  We had a good time this summer with Roger and Carol. A final campfire and happy hour at Riverside. Taking the boat to Virginia required highly trained and professional boat movers.  Mike, Keven and Tim came to New York State to help with the effort.  For the first time the "Patti Ann" went to Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay.  Thanks to Mike for doing the truck driving.  The old Chevy pickup made the trip, but it was a long drive. And September 23rd ...

The month of August has been a great month of one week on the boat and one week off.  A nice way to spend the summer.  We're currently at the Champlain Marina in Colchester, Vermont.  After anchoring out for two nights we're sitting out a couple of weather days (yesterday rain and today wind) before heading south to Port Henry tomorrow.  We have learned that two successive days anchoring out is enough on our little tug boat.  Then we need a break to stretch our legs, add water to our water tank and explore. This past month we visited some parts of Lake Champlain that we haven't seen before: Vermont's Inland Sea Islands.  Here are a few photos of Lake Champlain and the month of August. After we anchored out behind Cedar Island on the Vermont side (not pictured), we visited the town of Essex, NY.  This is a stop we last made in 2006 on our Monk trawler.  Beautiful town with failing marinas, and no ice cream. Just off of Essex (on the West side of th...

We returned to the Port Henry marina last Monday (August 3) to prepare for Hurricane Isaias.  At the start of the summer we were pretty sure that a hurricane couldn't reach us in the Adirondacks.  And I think our boat insurance company thought the same.  And what is it about "I" storms?  The first Isabelle in 2003 almost took out our new boat to us "Fairways".  Irene took out our car in Hampton.  And now Isaias (not sure about how to pronounce it). Yet on Tuesday the eye of Hurricane/tropical storm Isaias passed just about right over the boat.  But by then it was a very weakened storm and it passed through quickly, and brought much needed rain. However, it was a good reason to tie the boat up and get off for a week.  And from the tropical storm, the weather was cooler and the river was up for tubing. And not too much else happened this past week.  A nice summer week.  And a cold beer at the Paradox Brewery in North Hudson, NY.  Caro...

A week ago we got back on the boat.  Joan and Steve Butler drove over for a cruise and cook out.  Joan brought a salad and vegetables fresh from her garden.  It turned out to be a great evening, and it was their first time traveling under the Crown Point Bridge rather than driving over it. Patti and I then set out to "bounce around Lake Champlain".  No agenda, just enjoy the good weather and empty lake.  There are very few boats just bouncing around the lake.  A number of small fishing boats, but not many cruisers.  I think we mentioned on an earlier post that the lake is closed at both the north and south ends.  The biggest impact is that Canadians can't come down to use their boats that they keep on the Lake. We spent two nights in Burlington, Vermont, which was very refreshing! Burlington is the sunset capital of the east. We try to anchor out when possible to swim and just float around.  We went to Valcour Island on a perfect Friday night...

Things have been quiet in New York State.  We recently learned that Virginians must quarantine for 14 days if they come into New York State or Vermont.  Since we have been here since July 6th, we figure we have completed a 14 days quarantine, but it hasn't been much of a sacrifice.  Although, we do feel that it's best to enjoy the summer away from large groups of people. Lately we have been hearing about the heat in New Jersey and Virginia.  90 to 100 degrees every day.  It has been cooler in the New York State North Country and Vermont.  Actually we have had a couple of 90 degree days, but it's also easier to cool off - happy hour in the river.  Here is Patti, Steve and Joan Butler, and Roger, Carol and Casey Bolles. The problem isn't getting into the water, it's getting out.  And the longer you stay, the deeper it gets. We have finally gone out on the boat.  A couple of day trips and a couple of overnights. We took cousins Barbara, Cameron ...

The last post was April.  Our intentions were to document the year of the pandemic, but it was easy to get distracted by ...?…, nothing at all.  No excuses.  The trip to Singapore and Thailand in January brought the coronavirus to our attention.  And it has been there ever since. This year is different (hopefully just this year).  Except for the stress of the virus and news around it, our life has been very good.  Our normal activities don't usually involve a lot of people anyway.  Patti gardens, I golf, ride bike and work around the house.  We put the boat (the Whaler) in the water and used Doc's pontoon boat.  And we sat in our Doc and Sue's driveway for happy hour and cookouts and movies. And you're asking "what about Bob?", or "Bob's your uncle!". In these uncertain times, a huge concern is how careful to be.  We want to be safe, which I think we are, but everyone has a different opinion on how safe to be.  We so...